1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to washing machines used for washing clothes, sheets, etc. and, more particularly, to a washing machine with a tilted tub assembly, the tub assembly being tilted at a predetermined angle suitable for improving washing effect of the washing machine while reducing the deviation of the washing effect, and being convenient to users while putting or taking laundry into or out of the tub assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, washing machines are electric equipment used for washing laundry, such as clothes, sheets, etc. When laundry is continuously immersed in water, mixed with detergent, for a lengthy period of time without adding any mechanical action to the laundry, dirt of the laundry may be removed due to a chemical reaction of the detergent. However, a lengthy period of time is needed until dirt completely is removed. Therefore, in order to quickly wash laundry, it is necessary to add a mechanical action, such as friction and vibration, to the laundry by forcibly whirling detergent water with the laundry immersed in the water. Washing machines are for washing laundry while adding such a mechanical action to the laundry in detergent water.
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view, showing the construction of a typical washing machine. As shown in the drawing, the typical washing machine comprises a housing 10 and a washing tub assembly 20. The tub assembly 20 is installed inside the housing 10 and performs a washing operation. Four damper hangers 30 support the tub assembly 20 in the housing 10 while suspending the assembly 20 in said housing 10 and performing a damper function. The washing machine also has a drive motor 40 which rotates both a pulsator 25 and an inner tub 23 of the tub assembly 20.
The tub assembly 20 comprises two tubs: an outer tub 21 and an inner tub 23. The outer tub 21 has four regularly spaced brackets 22 at its lower portion, thus being caught by the lower ends of the four damper hangers 30 at the brackets 22. The tub 21 is thus held in the housing 10. On the other hand, the inner tub 23, densely perforated on its sidewall, is concentrically positioned inside the outer tub 21 with a pulsator 25 being interiorly integrated with the bottom of the inner tub 23. The above pulsator 25 is for improving washing effect of the machine.
The drive motor 40 is provided with both a clutch unit and a planetary gear mechanism, thus controlling a rotating action of the inner tub 23 integrated with the pulsator 25.
The four damper hangers 30 are caught by housing brackets 11, formed on the upper portion of the housing 10, at their top ends. The lower ends of the hangers 30 are individually caught by a tub bracket 22, formed on the lower portion of the outer tub 21, through a damper unit 35. The damper unit 35 comprises a hollow damper case 37, which is held by the tub bracket 22 at the upper portion and receives a coil spring 36, with a flanged lower end of the hanger 30 being stopped by the lower end of the spring 36 within the case 37.
Therefore, the tub assembly 20 is suspended within the housing 10 by the damper hangers 30.
The above washing machine is operated as follows.
Laundry, such as clothes, sheets, etc., is put into the perforated inner tub 23 of the tub assembly 20 prior to starting the washing machine. When the machine is started, water is supplied from a pipe line into the tub assembly 20 until the water reaches a predetermined level. Of course, the water level is determined in accordance with the volume of laundry. Thereafter, the drive motor 40 is started, thus rotating the inner tub 23 along with the pulsator 25. That is, a washing process is started.
When a preset time has passed after the motor 40 is started, the motor 40 is stopped. A drain valve 27, provided at a drain pipe 28 extending outwardly from the bottom of the tub assembly 20, is opened, thus discharging laundry wastewater from the tub assembly 20 through the drain pipe 28.
After the detergent water is completely discharged from the tub assembly 20, new water is supplied into the tub assembly 20 until the water reaches a predetermined level. A rinsing process is, thereafter, started. Such a rinsing process is performed twice or three times in each washing operation of the machine. In each of the rinsing processes, the washing machine performs the same operation as that of each washing process. However, in each rinsing process, the working time of the drive motor 40 is shorter than that of each washing process.
After the preset washing and rinsing processes are completely ended, the perforated inner tub 23 is rotated at a high speed so as to start a water-drainage process where the water soaked laundry is somewhat drained of water. In such a water-drainage process, the water-saturated laundry is centrifugally drained of water. The water, thereafter, passes from the inner tub 23 into the outer tub 21 through the perforations of the inner tub 23 due to a high speed rotating action of the inner tub 23. The water is, thereafter, discharged from the outer tub 21 into the outside of the housing 10 through the drain pipe 28.
However, the above washing machine is problematic in that the tub assembly 20 is always vertically held in the housing 10 while being suspended by the hangers 30. Such a vertical position of the tub assembly 20 forces insufficiently tall users to stand on their toes while putting or taking laundry into or out of the tub assemblies 20 in the case of large-scaled washing machines. This is inconvenient to such users.
In addition, the vertically positioned tub assembly 20 is also designed to be repeatedly rotated in opposite directions during a washing operation of a machine. When a secondary water current, formed by the pulsator 25, moves from the pulsator 25 to the upper portion of the assembly 20, the secondary water current fails to effectively move along the sidewall of the tub assembly 20, but moves to a position around the central axis of the tub assembly 20. This regrettably causes the laundry to be entangled together during a washing operation. Another problem experienced in the typical washing machines resides in that the secondary water current fails to have a complex and active flow, but has a simple and weak flow. Such a simple and weak flow of the secondary water current is not suitable for uniformly washing the laundry. This reduces the washing effect of the washing machines.